Complexity, transparency and time pressure: practical insights into science communication in times of crisis
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A global crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic that started in early 2020 poses significant challenges for how research is conducted and communicated. We present four case studies from the perspective of an interdisciplinary research institution that switched to “corona-mode” during the first two months of the crisis, focussing all its capacities on COVID-19-related issues, communicating to the public directly and via media, as well as actively advising the national government.
The case studies highlight the challenges posed by the increased time pressure, high demand for transparency, and communication of complexity and uncertainty. The article gives insights into how these challenges were addressed in our research institution and how science communication in general can be managed during a crisis.
J. Lasser, V. Ahne, G. Heiler, P. Klimek, H. Metzler, T. Reisch, M. Sprenger, S. Thurner, J. Sorger, Complexity, transparency and time pressure: practical insights into science communication in times of crisis, Journal of Science Communication 19(05) (2020) N01
This work is supported by
Wiener Wissenschafts-, Forschungs- und Technologie Fonds projects #COV20-017 “Tagesaktuelle Coronalagekarte” and #MA16-045
the Vienna Science and Technology Fund project #VRG16-005
and the Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft project #873927 and FWF project #P29032